End of Days
by Suna Rei
Summary: Demyx struggles to survive in the aftermath of a nuclear bomb and makes the most unusual friends along the way.
1. Chapter 1 The Puppy

"End of Days"

By: Suna Rei

Chapter One The Puppy

"Are you ready to rock?"

The crowd around the small stage of the 13th Bar erupted in screams and cheers as the new band in town prepared to play. It was their first performance at this particular location. Never the less, many loyal fans had turned up to see the performance of A.D.H.D. The leader and head singer of the band was a teen named Demyx. He was a dirty blond with blue-green eyes and a wild personality. Playing on bass was a tall man named Saix, aka the Puppy. He had long blue hair accompanied by an x-shaped scar between his piercing yellow eyes. No one was sure how he acquired said scar. On electric was Vexen. He came off as a bit crazy, but he had mad skills with his axe. He had long blond hair and brilliant green eyes. Last but not least was Luxord on the drums. He was a cocky Brit with really short blond hair and blue eyes.

"This… is…my… last… BREATH!" Demyx was singing. "As I stand back and watch the end of days…"

The crowd roared with excitement. The song "End of Days" was a big hit with the fans. A.D.H.D. had yet to become an official band and did local gigs for money. Basically they sang what ever they felt like singing once they got on stage. Demyx wrote the songs, but they usually were mindless and really out there. As always, when they were finished playing they hung out and got drunk off their asses. Demyx was still under age, but no one seemed to care.

"D-duuuuude… I have like… six fingers… This is crazy wicked…" Luxord said to no one in particular, far drunker than the rest of them.

"Pfffffft… No you don't silly…" Demyx said to him, and then started to laugh for no reason in particular.

"That's… impossible! But I clearly see six fingers on your hands… I must study you…" Vexen slurred, holding up one of Luxord's hands.

"Back off, ya bloody nerd…" Luxord laughed, pulling his hand away and causing Vexen to fall over.

"Morons…" Saix muttered.

"Hey! Hey Puppy! Wassat? Huh? Wassat?" Demyx laughed, pointing a laser light at the wall.

"Damn light's back!" Saix jumped up and tried to attack it, failing epically.

Demyx fell out of his seat from laughing.

Saix looked over to him, pouting. "Meanie…"

"Oh, don't cry…" Demyx wiped the tears from his own eyes as he said this. "Come 'ere…"

Saix pouted again but obeyed. Demyx gave him a bear hug. With a sneaky smile he ruined the moment by grabbing the man's ass.

"H-hey!" Saix jumped back, looking bewildered.

"Ah, lighten up, dude!" Luxord said, laughing.

The four had been friends since they were in diapers. The band just kinda started up as they got older. Demyx was pretty good with the electric but he'd been voted for lead singer. Next week the group had an interview with some big shot producers. They all wanted to be known for their talent.

"Could you be any more gay?" Vexen snorted, taking a large gulp from his drink.

"I don't care… I'm gay and I'm proud!" Demyx said loudly.

"That's the spirit!" Luxord cheered.

Their songs were every bit as mindless as their conversations. After a while the four called it a night and headed for home. As Demyx walked down the street, he noticed a strange bright green glow on the horizon. He didn't really think much of it, assuming that it was a hallucination. A young blond boy was sitting on the side of the street, examining a dead cat. Its fur was solid black, and its guts were spread out over the road. The boy looked up as he came near, his blue eyes full of a strange fascination with what he was doing.

"Gross…" Demyx muttered as he walked by. "You shouldn't play with things like that, kid."

He could have sworn the boy was humming "End of Days". Demyx reached his apartment, cursing to himself as he fumbled to unlock the front door. Too tired to worry about hygiene, the teen plopped down in his bed and passed out. Not too long after that there was a massive explosion within the city.

. . .

Demyx opened his eyes slowly, wondering why he was in so much pain. He could see the sky, but it was clouded and gray. He sat up, looking around with a horrified expression on his face. The tall buildings that once made up the city were in ruins. Some had been reduced to rubble. There were no sounds at all, no cars, no people, no nothing.

He soon found he wasn't alone and nearly jumped out of his skin. A strange looking blond boy was staring at him with deep blue eyes from atop a pile of rubble. His skin was a pale green color and his tattered clothes had bloodstains on them. A deep gash ran across his left cheek, but the blood seemed to have already dried.

"Jeeze, scare me to death, why don't ya?" Demyx said, holding his chest.

The kid merely gave him a confused look, as if he couldn't understand him. Demyx frowned slightly. This kid was starting to creep him out. He stood up, brushing rocks and dirt from his pants and looked around one more time. The boy remained seated, but watched his every movement.

"What the hell happened…" Demyx muttered to himself.

He didn't bother to look back to see if the kid was still there. Instead, he began walking down the streets, which were clogged with what used to be buildings, and lots of crushed cars. He saw no people though, no blood, or any corpses. Demyx was getting more freaked out by the minute. He noticed a drug store that was still partially standing and decided to grab a few things. First things first, he needed something to kill the terrible pain in his back.

After grabbing a backpack from the floor, he made his way to the back where the shelves of pill bottles were. He gulped down a couple of pills and threw the bottle in his bag. He looked around for any other useful things. All he found were some bags of chips, a couple of water bottles, a box of Band-Aids, and a sewing kit. They all were tossed casually into the bag with the meds. It looked like some one else had already cleaned most of this place out. Well, food wise anyways.

Demyx threw the bag over one shoulder and turned to leave. He froze up when he saw that boy again. He was peaking curiously at him from behind one of the shelves.

"Why are you following me…?" Demyx called out to him.

"You're…" he started, coming out from hiding, "How come you're not dead?"

"How could you say something like that? What the hell happened here?"

Instead of answering, the boy snarled, baring his teeth. He tried to attack Demyx, who stumbled backwards and fell over.

"G-get away from me!" He screamed, backing up until he hit a shelf.

The boy watched him as he started to cry a little.

"Ok, ok! Jeeze… I won't eat you, since you're gonna cry about it…" he said in an irritated tone.

"E-eat me?" Demyx said, horrified. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"It's what I do…" the boy sighed.

He walked over and sat down beside the frightened teen. "A nuke was dropped three days ago."

Demyx thought back to that green light he had seen. "So, everything was… destroyed?"

"Yeah… I really had nothing to lose though… So… I guess I'm ok with it."

"H-have you seen any one besides me?" Demyx asked, afraid that the boy had killed his friends.

"You're the first living person I've seen since the bomb dropped. Uh… My name's Roxas," he offered.

Demyx was confused and frustrated, also worried that he was about to get his throat ripped out. "I'm… I'm Demyx. So, uh… did the radiation like… mutate you or something?"

Roxas shared his confusion for a second before laughing. "I have no idea. I guess so... I just kinda woke up like this…"

"Wait… You said I was the first living one you'd seen. Were there others like… you?"

"More zombies? Yeah. But I don't recommend going near them. No one seems to have any sense anymore. They tried attacking me…"

"So you just act the same way?" Demyx asked with a judgmental tone.

"I-I was lost!" Roxas said, suddenly sounding scared. "I thought I was supposed to be like them…"

"Calm down!" Demyx placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I… I don't know what to do…" Roxas said in a small voice.

"I don't either," Demyx agreed.

The wound on Roxas's cheek was really starting to bug him. He remembered he had randomly grabbed a sewing kit and pulled it out of his bag.

"Would you mind if I…?" Demyx motioned towards the boy's cheek.

"H-huh? Oh, this? Go ahead…"

Demyx pulled out a needle and some black colored thread. It was the only color he had, but it would have to do. The boy didn't react in the least bit when he poked the needle through his skin. He used some water from one of the bottles to clean off the dried blood once he finished closing it up.

"Much better…" Demyx said, smiling.

Roxas ran his fingers along the stitching. "I didn't feel a thing… Huh…"

"I'm gonna go see if I can find any survivors…"

Demyx stood up, adjusting the straps on his bag. The boy stood up as well. Apparently he wanted to go with him. Demyx wasn't complaining. Having a little zombie boy for a companion was better than being alone he supposed. The two made their way through the rubble, Demyx desperately searching for some one, any one. Roxas kept looking around like he expected something to jump out at them at any moment. That was making Demyx nervous. The boy had wandered around for three days, so he already knew what to expect.

"Why aren't there any bodies…?" Demyx asked after awhile.

"The monsters ate them," Roxas replied, looking the other way.

"M-monsters?" Demyx exclaimed.

"Yeah. We weren't the only ones who mutated. I saw a freaking wicked dog yesterday. Must have been the size of an RV."

Demyx gulped. "W-was it around here…?"

"Not far from here… Closer to the east side maybe."

Demyx's breath caught in his throat. Saix lived in that area, and he had a dog. He shook the thought from his head. He couldn't let his emotions get the better of him again.

"Y-you don't really feel like… you want to eat me, do you?"

Roxas looked up and met his eyes, a strange smile on his face. "I don't feel. I'm dead."

Demyx watched the boy walk ahead. He had cold chills running down his spine. He seemed to be the only thing around not dead. He stopped thinking and rushed to catch up with Roxas, though the two seemed to be heading nowhere in particular.

"So… uh… You have any idea where you're going?" Demyx asked after a while.

"Yeah! I wanna show you that dog," Roxas said, excited.

"W-WHAT? I'm not going near that thing!" Demyx yelled out, backing up from the confused boy.

"Ah, come on!" Roxas said, turning around to face him. "We won't get too close, I promise!"

"No way!"

Roxas pouted, looking slightly hurt. He walked over to Demyx and took his hand, trying to pull him along. Demyx, being older and bigger, didn't budge. He was scared out of his mind enough as it was. Roxas tugged harder, but still failed.

Demyx finally got tired of him pulling at his hand. "Fine, fine! A quick look, then we're outta there. Got it?"

Roxas's face lit up and he pulled Demyx along. The two came up to what used to be a fairly large intersection. The bases of the skyscrapers were still standing on the side opposite from them. Roxas motioned for him to be quiet and the two crouched behind a half-intact wall. Demyx froze up, hearing a loud thump sound coming their way.

"Here he comes," Roxas whispered.

"Oh god…"

Demyx saw it and knew exactly who it had used to be. The dog was slightly bigger than Roxas's description. Its fur was blue and it was covered in blood. You could see the bones and muscle where it's rib cage was. About in the middle of it's tail the bone shoed. The back of one of its hind legs was also missing skin and a good chunk of meat.

"What's wrong?" Roxas whispered, noticing that he had gone pale.

"Th-that was my friend…" Demyx stammered, shaking badly. "H-he must have been fused with his d-dog or something…"

"I'm sorry… I didn't know!" Roxas said with that scared look again. "…Hey! Look!"

Roxas was pointing wildly. Demyx following his motions and saw a man on the other side of the street, hiding like they were. The man had short blond hair from what Demyx could see. The dog monster was sniffing around, looking for a meal. Demyx was horrified to realize that the man was Luxord. The creature stopped sniffing and turned away, heading back the way it came. Luxord had noticed the two across from him and made an attempt to run over to them.

Demyx freaked out and motioned for him to go back, waving wildly. The man paused for a moment, looking confused. The dog froze up, sniffing the air. It reeled around, resting its bright yellow eyes on Luxord. It let out a loud roar, sending drool flying from its horrible looking teeth.

"Luxord, RUN!" Demyx yelled.

He let out a scream and turned to run, but the monster caught him before he had a chance. Demyx looked away as it tore his friend apart. Roxas was watching with morbid fascination, too transfixed to look away. Demyx wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. He yanked the blond away, and made a run for it. Roxas snapped out of his strange state and was soon running right along side him. Demyx stopped once he thought they were safe, also feeling a stitch pulling in his side. His breathing was ragged and hurt. Roxas didn't even appear to be breathing. He was watching Demyx curiously.

"This… is… messed up…" Demyx said, panting.

"…" Roxas couldn't think of any thing to say.

Demyx looked up to the blond, who appeared concerned. He let out a sigh and straightened back up. He had failed to help his friend, but he felt determined to protect this boy. He just didn't understand why he felt the need. He tried to smile, placing his hand on Roxas's shoulder. The boy's tension eased a bit and the two started walking back through the ruins.


	2. Chapter 2 Flamethrower

Chapter Two Flamethrower

The sun was trying to peep through the clouds, casting pale rays of light on the ruins of the city. Demyx and Roxas had found a nice little place to rest, out of sight from anything that happened to pass by. The boy was leaning against his shoulder, seemingly asleep, but Demyx couldn't be too sure. He had dug around in a couple of places and had managed to retrieve a shotgun. He had enough bullets to take out a small army of zombies, but he wasn't too sure how well he'd fair against something like Saix.

Demyx opened his eyes, hearing the sound of something falling. He gently pushed Roxas off of him and went to investigate. Looking through a hole in the wall, he saw some one digging through some piles of junk. The man had his long blond hair pulled up in a ponytail, two long strands still loose in the front. Demyx suddenly felt excited and rushed out to greet the man.

"Vexen!" He called out.

The man jumped and turned around, pointing a knife in Demyx's direction. When he saw who it was, he suddenly smiled broadly.

"Demyx! I see you're fairing well!" He exclaimed.

"I can't believe it! You're alive!" Demyx grinned, punching the man playfully in his arm.

"As I can't believe that an airhead such as yourself has managed to survive this long," the man replied with a smile.

"That's not fair! Give me a little credit!" Demyx whined.

"Not a chance."

Roxas got up to see what all the noise was about. He looked out the hole and saw Demyx talking with Vexen. The boy felt somewhat depressed and slinked back into the shadows. That man would probably freak out if he saw the boy. He sat against the wall, curled up in a tight ball, staring at the floor.

"Have you found anyone else?" Demyx asked, not sounding very hopeful.

"Sadly, no. I've only encountered one or two zombies in my travels."

Demyx let out a sigh, deciding to tell him about the others. "I… I found Saix and Luxord…"

"That doesn't sound like a good thing," Vexen made the assumption.

"No… no it's not. Saix had turned into this monster. He was huge! And he… he killed Luxord." Demyx let his head hang.

"That's terrible news. I'm sorry you had to see such a thing occur."

"Well, I wasn't alone. I… I kinda made friends with a… uh… zombie…?"

"Do what now?" Vexen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's very friendly! Honest!" Demyx added quickly.

"He's still coherent? That's odd…"

"What do you mean?"

Vexen took a moment to collect his thoughts. "As far as I can tell, the brutes I've encountered were all mindless and seemed to have no direction in their miserable lives. Though, I suppose they're technically dead…"

"Hang on, I'll go get him…" Demyx turned and ran back over to their hiding spot.

He went over to Roxas, who was sitting in a ball on the floor, looking a bit sad.

"Hey, come on out… It's ok," Demyx offered his hand.

Roxas looked up to him, seeing sincerity in his eyes. Roxas nodded and took his hand, following him outside. Vexen didn't jump back or react badly at all. Instead he came forwards, watching the boy with curious eyes.

"His name is Roxas," Demyx said.

"Oh, you can talk?" Vexen said to the boy. "How fascinating…"

"Y-yeah…" Roxas responded, backing up against Demyx.

"Don't be afraid, boy. I'm not your enemy," Vexen said, noting his discomfort.

"It's alright, Rox. Vexen's been a friend of mine for a long time," Demyx encouraged.

"…" Roxas remained quiet, watching Vexen carefully.

"Not very talkative, are you?" Vexen muttered.

"He's not usually like this…" Demyx responded, looking down at the boy.

Roxas suddenly tensed up, his hair standing on ends. This actually made Vexen back up slightly. The boy bared his teeth. Demyx backed off from him, worried that he was about to lose it. Vexen seemed more interested by this action than the fact he could talk. He took a chance and looked behind him. Standing about twenty feet away was a zombie. He stood propped against a streetlight, a strange smirk on his face. His hair was spiked, bright red in color, a contrast with his green eyes and pale green skin. He had two black teardrop-like tattoos under his eyes.

The man laughed and walked towards them. Demyx noticed that he had a strange mechanism on his back. He was carrying what looked like a metal shotgun, but it had a hose attached to said mechanism. Roxas stood protectively in front of Demyx, while Vexen backed away from the newcomer.

"You seem a bit confused, boy," the man addressed Roxas in a smooth voice. "It's almost like you think these humans are, I don't know, your friends or something."

Roxas seemed taken aback by his remark. He looked questioningly to Demyx.

"Don't listen to him, Rox. He's trying to mess with you," Demyx told him in a quiet tone.

"H-he's like me…" Roxas stuttered, getting nervous.

"No he's not! That one's a killer!" Demyx said, a little louder than he had intended.

"Damn straight I'm a killer. The name's Axel. Get it memorized," the man said with a wicked sneer.

Roxas was shaking badly, frightened by the man. Demyx wasn't behind him anymore and that made it worse. He wrapped his arms around himself for comfort. Axel raised his strange gun and tapped it against his shoulder, laughing.

"What a wuss! What the hell kind of zombie are you?" Axel asked, walking closer to the three.

"Leave him alone!" Demyx shouted, stepping in front of Roxas.

Vexen raised his knife. Demyx readied his shotgun, aiming straight for Axel's chest. These actions made Axel ecstatic. His face contorted into a cruel grin. He took aim with his own gun, moving it from one target to the next as he tried to decide which one to kill first. The man was only a few feet away from them now. Demyx didn't want him getting any closer and fired. The bullet tore into Axel's shoulder, but no blood came out. The man merely smirked and took aim at Vexen, and pulled his own trigger. A ten-foot burst of flames shot out of the end, engulfing Vexen. He screamed as the fire licked at his skin, melting him alive.

"VEXEN, NO!" Demyx screamed, firing at Axel again out of rage.

The man laughed, jumping back to avoid the bullets. He aimed at Roxas next, but the boy freaked and bolted. Demyx took off after him, not wanting to lose the one person he had left in this miserable world. Axel simply watched them go. He was bored of messing around with the teen, but the zombie kid was a different story. That boy needed to learn what he really was. With a sigh, the red head walked down the street in the direction that they had ran off in.

Demyx found Roxas crouched behind what used to be a van. He wouldn't look up when Demyx confronted him. He gave up after a few minutes and sat across from the traumatized boy. Demyx couldn't hold back his emotions any longer. He cradled his head in his hands and cried out of frustration, feeling useless. He couldn't do anything to help either of his friends. Roxas looked over to the sobbing teen, not sure how to deal with his sudden outburst.

Axel was wrong. He wasn't like him and he didn't want to be. Demyx was his friend, not something to torture. Roxas moved and sat beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Demyx looked up and met the boy's eyes. Smiling, he wiped the tears from his own. Roxas didn't fall apart like this. He shouldn't either.

"Come on… I think it's time to get out of this city," Demyx said, standing up.

Roxas was still choosing to remain silent, but he nodded in agreement. They both started walking down the road that they had ducked onto, unaware that they were being watched. Right as Roxas rounded the corner a hand grabbed his wrist, pulling him away. Axel was back, but he looked extremely ticked this time.

"You can't deny it, boy!" He snarled.

"Let me go!" Roxas screamed, shaking his head and pulling away.

Demyx heard the boy's wrist snap, seconds later his hand pulled loose. Roxas fell back onto his rear, unfazed by losing his hand. He scrambled back to his feet and ran back to Demyx's side, and he had his shotgun loaded and aimed. Axel tossed Roxas's hand aside and raised his flamethrower in response. The two faced off, waiting for the other to make a move. Demyx was faster this time, and shot Axel straight in the forehead. It was just like before, no blood exiting his fresh wound. These people really were dead.

Axel staggered back and fell to his knees, seemingly stunned. Demyx took no chances and shot again, this time hitting him in the chest. The man slumped over face-first, hitting the ground with a hollow thump. Demyx looked back and noticed that Roxas's arm wasn't bleeding either. The blood looked black and clotted.

"So that doesn't only work in movies… huh…" Demyx said to himself, looking back to the man's body. "Watching old zombie films paid off, I guess."

Roxas laughed a little, but looked at his left arm in dismay. Demyx got an idea and went looking for the boy's hand. It was underneath a bench that was somehow still in one piece. Demyx jumped and let out a yell when he went to grab it and it moved. The severed hand leapt up onto it's fingers and scurried out from under the bench like a spider. Roxas knelt down to pick it up, smiling at Demyx's response.

"You did that on purpose," Demyx said with a pout.

He waited for the two to get far enough from Axel's corpse for his comfort before pulling the sewing kit back out.

"This thing's coming in handy after all," Demyx said while he stitched Roxas's hand back on.

"You're not the only one falling apart here," Roxas said with a half-hearted laugh.

"No kidding," Demyx replied with a grin. "Just make sure you keep your head on, ok?"

Roxas smiled and nodded. When Demyx finished up, Roxas flexed his fist a couple of times until he was satisfied with its movement. He was about to say something, but when he looked at Demyx he froze up, a terrified expression clouding his face. Demyx scrambled to his feet and turned around, aiming his shotgun. Axel stood there, arms folded casually across his chest.

"Don't guess you stopped to think that I'm already dead. What makes you think a head shot would work?" Axel asked, his face emotionless.

"Why won't you leave us alone?" Demyx responded.

"So you really are friends with the human…" Axel ignored him, making a reference to Roxas.

"So what? Who says we have to kill them?" Roxas finally spoke up against the man. "He doesn't want to kill me!"

"Heh… I see that," Axel replied, that smile back in its place.

He turned his atrention to Demyx, who still hadn't let his guard down.

"Let me give you a word of advice. The only way to get rid of a zombie is to burn them. That peashooter of yours won't do you much good."

He pulled the flamethrower off of his back and tossed it to the ground in front of Demyx.

"Most of us "zombies" aren't quite so… sociable," Axel continued. "Put it to good use, will ya?"

With that Axel turned away from the two and walked away. Demyx watched him go with a mix of emotions, not really too sure what exactly just happened. Roxas bent down and picked up the discarded weapon, fiddling with it, trying to see how it worked. Demyx stopped him before he accidentally set himself on fire. Roxas decided it was best to let Demyx use it and he took possession of the gun and his backpack.

The scattered rays of sunlight were long gone. The sky was starting to get dark, indicating that it was almost nighttime. Demyx and Roxas made it to the city limits just as the sky turned completely black. It was impossible to see any stars or the moon. The world was cloaked in its own ashes. Neither of them was sure how long things would remain this way. Instead of dwelling, they just kept pushing forward.


	3. Chapter 3 Hairdryers

Chapter Three Hairdryers

Demyx's breath caught in his throat as he looked out past the city at the wastelands that stretched out before him. The ground entered into a sudden slope, showing where the major part of the explosion had stopped. Roxas had seen this already, having traveled here a few days before. The two cautiously made their way down the slope, avoiding the various pipes and other odd objects protruding out of the dirt. It was hard enough to see as it was. They were forced to pull out some flashlights that they had found along the way.

The two walked on for quite some time after reaching the bottom. There used to be a few large communities and schools out this way, but it seems that everything was leveled flat for several miles. Demyx let out a loud sigh as he thought of the blisters that were soon to be on his feet. He was also feeling like he was going insane from the silence that was all around him. Roxas hadn't talked much since Axel's confrontation.

"Alone in desolation…" Demyx started singing when he could take the quiet no more. "A life of deprivation… No one left and the world has gone to hell. You're all dead but I'm not ready to kill myself."

"But this… is… my… last… BREATH! As I stand back and watch the end of days," Roxas picked up.

"Hey! You know that song?" Demyx smiled, looking to the boy.

"Yeah. I heard it a couple of times. Don't know who sang it though…" Roxas said, looking at his feet as he walked.

"Heh… I used to sing it," Demyx said, growing quiet.

Roxas looked up at him with amazement in his eyes. "Really? That's awesome!"

"Vexen, Saix, Luxord, and me made up A.D.H.D." Demyx's voice was laced with sadness as he spoke. "We were gonna try and make it big next week… but… This happened."

Roxas stopped walking and looked back down at his feet. "I've never been a part of something like that. I've lived my whole life on the streets."

Demyx put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Well, you're part of something now."

Roxas looked back up at him with surprise. Demyx smiled and continued walking. Roxas smiled and continued to follow.

"So… You know the whole song?" Demyx asked.

"I think so… Umm…"

Roxas was too nervous to start, so Demyx picked up where they left off.

"The world… is… on… FIRE! And I stand at the edge of the blaze."

"Who are you, to think you belong so high up above us all…"

"But you know what they say. The bigger you get the harder you fall!"

"This… is… my… last… BREATH! As I stand back and watch the end of days…"

"The final chapters sneak up on you fast, and I'm gonna put an end to your charades!"

Then the two began singing together, as Demyx and Saix used to. "It's all over now, as I set the world ablaze. You're done, you're through. This is the end of days."

"…Your song is fitting," Roxas commented when they finally stopped.

"What do you mean?" Demyx asked, looking confused.

"This really is the end, don't you think?" Roxas asked, looking towards the sky.

"Only if ya wanna be negative about it…" Demyx replied. "We might make it through this."

"You have a better chance," Roxas said, stopping suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Demyx asked, turning around.

Roxas just noticed the large gaping wound in his thigh. Demyx sighed, walking back to the pitiful kid. He had to sew his leg while Roxas held a flashlight up for him to see.

"I guess you did this when we came down the cliff side, huh?" Demyx asked, but he was more talking to himself.

"I don't know…" Roxas responded.

He started laughing. Demyx looked up, startled by the sudden outburst. He gave the boy a weird look that just made him laugh harder. Eventually he started coughing. Demyx patted him on the back, wondering what the hell brought this on so suddenly. Once the boy calmed down, he started talking again.

"I'm so pathetic…" he said, lying down on his back.

"Why do you say that?" Demyx asked, lying down beside him.

"How the hell am I gonna last? I don't even know when I'm falling apart…"

"You got me for that," Demyx said, grinning even though the darkness hid it.

"Heh, yeah… I guess I do." Roxas sat back up, looking out over the wastelands.

"We should get moving again. There's no telling what's lurking out here…" Demyx said, feeling that all too familiar cold shiver.

"Right."

The two were on the move again for about two hours before they actually saw something. Up ahead was a dull light beside a small structure. As they got closer, Demyx realized that it was a light pole next to what appeared to be a gas station. He thought it was really odd that this place still had power, but then again it was probably hooked up to its own source since it was so far out.

As the two entered the small area illuminated by the dim yellow light, a figure suddenly burst out from the station. It was a man in a black trench coat. His hair was long, pulled into a ponytail, the black streaked with gray. His eye color was yellow, though his right eye bore a patch. There was a scar across his left cheek. In each hand he appeared to be holding purple hairdryers.

"Watch out, little blond dude!" He yelled, pointing the hairdryers in their direction.

The two both wore confused expressions, and looked around. Both were blond, but the man didn't take that into consideration.

"Uh… You with the mullet!"

"Who, me?" Demyx asked, looking back at the man.

Roxas started backing up. Demyx realized what was going on, stepping in front of the scared boy.

"Whoa! Dude! That's a zombie! You don't wanna get near him!" The man persisted.

"I've been near him since I woke up in this hell hole, good sir," Demyx responded hotly.

"Uh… Seriously, dude?" The man lowered his hairdryers. "Weird."

"He doesn't bite, honest. My name's Demyx," he offered. "This is Roxas."

Roxas waved from behind Demyx, but didn't come back out.

"The name's Xigbar," the man said.

"So, uh… What's with the hairdryers?" Demyx asked, walking closer to him.

"Hairdryers? As if! These are grenade launchers," Xigbar said, grinning.

"Uh… ok…"

"What's with the toaster?" Xigbar asked with a laugh, motioning towards his back.

"Flamethrower," Demyx replied.

"Hard core, little dude," he said in awe. "So, you're seriously friends with that guy?"

"Yes!" Demyx said sounding irritated.

"Ok! Ok! Chill out, little dude!" He responded, holding his hands up.

"…What are you doing out here, anyways?" Demyx asked, looking at the dark station.

"My own personal hide out," he replied with a grin. "I knew this was gonna happen sooner or later, so I waited it out."

"Huh…" Prepared? Demyx thought, looking at his hairdryers.

"So… Where are you guys headed?" Xigbar asked. "There's nothing out that way. Nothing but monsters."

"We… aren't really going anywhere. Just looking for others who survived."

"Well, I guess that means me, don't it?" Xigbar said more to himself than Demyx. "You know, I'm not really sure what's over that way. I made it far enough to get chased by these four-legged fuckers. Thought I saw some light in the distance, but I can't be too sure."

"Well, I guess we'll take our chances then, right Rox?"

"We can take them," he said, nodding.

"W-whoa! He can freakin' talk?" Xigbar said, jumping back when the boy spoke up.

"Yeah… How else would I know his name?" Demyx replied in a 'duh' sort of way.

"I don't know! I thought maybe it was your pet or something!" He defended.

"I'm not an it!" Roxas spoke up.

"Touchy, touchy… Jeeze…" Xigbar said, shaking his head. "Whatever you say, little zombie dude."

Roxas pouted, slinking back behind Demyx.

"So, uh… You guys gonna go on ahead?" Xigbar asked, feeling slightly creeped out by Roxas.

"Yeah. Come on, Rox…"

The two walked past Xigbar, leaving him with a curious look. The dim light of the light pole suddenly went out when the two hadn't made it fifty feet from it. They saw a smaller light bobbling after them. Xigbar rushed over to the confused boys, holding a flash light in one hand. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder.

"I'm going with you dudes. You won't last a second out here without me," he said, grinning.

"Whatever floats your boat, man," Demyx replied, shrugging.

The three of them were silent for some time. Eventually Roxas started humming again. Xigbar seemed lost in his own strange thoughts, while Demyx just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Xigbar reached out to stop the blonds when a ragged howl erupted through the darkness. Demyx shined his flash light around cautiously, not too sure what direction it came from. Xigbar raised one of his hairdryers. Roxas did the same with his shotgun, though it was more of a comfort thing since bullets did him no good. Demyx unhooked the gun from his gas tank and got ready to flambé anything that the darkness had in store for them.

Roxas's flashlight landed on something roughly the size of a German Sheppard. Its head appeared to be like a Venus flytrap, teeth and saliva everywhere. The thing had no tail, and its spine was sticking out. There were several bloody patches on its body where it was missing skin and chunks of flesh. The little fir it had remaining was brown, while its skin was black. The boy freaked and tried to shoot it, but it darted back into the shadows. He searched frantically, trying to relocate it.

The other two did the same, tensing up when they heard two more howls somewhere nearby. Demyx spotted one as it walked close to them. He pulled his trigger quick, bright flames shooting out and engulfing the creature. The light produced from the fire allowed Xigbar to locate another. He loaded something round into his hairdryer and pulled the trigger. When the object made contact with the creature, it exploded, setting the beast on fire.

"Hairdryers, huh?" Demyx said, looking for Roxas.

The boy had his own problem to deal with. The third creature leapt at him, knocking him to the ground. He screamed and snarled, trying to fight the thing off. It caught his right hand in its jaws, tearing it clean off. Demyx ran over and tackled the thing off of his friend and scrambled to his feet before the thing could attack again.

"GET DOWN!" Xigbar yelled, firing his hairdryer once more.

Demyx snatched Roxas up and ducked for cover as the grenade landed in the creature's mouth. It exploded from within its stomach, sending blood, guts, and various body parts flying. Roxas looked around for what had used to be the head, trying to locate his hand. Demyx found it about twenty feet away, still stuck to the teeth that had bitten it off. He pried it off and it clung to his hand.

"WAAH! Get it off!" He screamed, waving his arm like a moron.

"Calm down!" Roxas said, running over to reclaim it.

"Does this happen a lot?" Xigbar asked, walking over to them.

"He already lost the other one once," Demyx said. "It wouldn't be so bad if his hands didn't move on their own…"

"Yeah… that is kinda freaky," Xigbar said, eyeing Roxas holding his hand.

"I'll sew it back on when the sun comes back out, ok?" Demyx asked Roxas.

"That's fine," he said, his hand climbing up onto the boy's shoulder.

Xigbar looked away, shuddering slightly. Demyx gave the boy a weird look, but didn't say anything. Roxas just smiled, realizing how uncomfortable he was making them.

"Shall we keep going…?" Xigbar asked.

"Yeah… I don't want to wait for more of those things to show up," Demyx agreed.

He wondered just how far away they were from finding another ruined city, or something else more terrifying. He was actually starting to get used to the world the three unlikely companions were forced to live in. As they walked, Demyx began to feel hopeful again. Maybe they would pull through this after all.


	4. Chapter 4 The Town

Chapter Four The Town

Xigbar had been right about seeing light in the distance. Not too far off from the three was a yellow glow. Demyx had a thought that maybe, just maybe, there were still people there. The cause of the light turned out to be a small town's streetlights. Sadly, the place seemed deserted and like before Demyx heard no sounds at all. The three decided to rest near the edge of town, incase monsters roamed the streets. Demyx took the time to sew Roxas's hand back on. He was actually getting pretty good at patching the boy back together.

Roxas seemed a little sad to have his hand back on after it had spent so long riding on his shoulder. Demyx smiled a little about the thought. Xigbar was occupying himself with tuning one of his hairdryers. Demyx was having a hard time figuring the guy out. He couldn't really tell if Roxas was going brain-dead, or if he really had been such a quiet kid before all of this happened. Xigbar still gave him a weird look from time to time, and Demyx feared he was still contemplating on killing the boy.

Demyx stood up and stretched after a while, deciding to go looking for supplies. He was getting pretty hungry. Roxas was down behind him within minutes of him leaving. The boy seemed to notice Xigbar's hostility towards him as well. Xigbar had his own agenda and wandered off in a different direction.

When Demyx turned around one of the curbs, he was shocked to see a woman and a young girl running towards them. She froze up when she saw Roxas and let out a cry, holding the girl close to her. The woman had blond hair and electric blue eyes. Her right arm was torn to shreds. The girl had short black hair with matching eyes. Roxas hid behind Demyx as usual, eyeing the two females cautiously.

"Calm down, miss! It's ok!" Demyx said, holding his hands up.

"How is it ok? He's one of them!" The blond woman shrieked.

"He's not like the others!" Demyx insisted.

"Yeah, that's what I thought about my husband! He started out ok. I thought he was just sick because of his skin but t-then… T-then he attacked us!" She said, on the verge of crying.

"You mean… He changed?" Demyx asked in a quiet tone.

"Yes!"

Somewhere else in the town an explosion sounded, which could have been any number of things. Demyx was worried that Xigbar had run into trouble, but he was too far away to help. Roxas looked back to the smoke rising up past the rooftops.

"H-he's over there, I know it!" The woman said, sounding hysterical.

Her child was watching Roxas curiously. She didn't seem that afraid of him. In fact, she seemed rather calm. It almost reminded Demyx of the way Roxas acted half of the time. The girl had a nasty looking bite mark on her arm, but the blood had clotted and looked black.

"Just calm down, please!" Demyx said to the woman, knowing that it would do no good. "Your little girl is injured. She needs you to be strong."

The woman looked down and noticed the wound for the first time. Her facial expressions grew clouded for a moment before she let out a high-pitched scream. She backed away from the girl, looking fearful. Another explosion sounded. Demyx couldn't afford to waste time here for much longer.

"What the hell is wrong with you lady?" Demyx said in disgust, turning away from the two.

Roxas watched them for a minute in wonder, before turning to run after Demyx. They didn't bother to turn back around when the woman screamed again, almost as if she was being killed. It was the last time they heard that horrible wail. Demyx felt a slight tinge of guilt, but he pushed it from his mind. He couldn't trust people around Roxas, but he felt differently about Xigbar. The guy acted suspicious, but Demyx knew he wouldn't hurt the boy.

"Xigbar, where are you?" Demyx called out, running from street to street.

"There!" Roxas cried, pointing down one of the wider roads.

Demyx ran back and saw Xigbar facing off against a rather large man, well, a zombie to be precise. He had long black dreadlocks and had grown his sideburns out a bit longer than most people. He had bloodstains all over his face and hands. Thankfully Xigbar looked unharmed. Demyx assumed that this was that lady's husband.

The man's hair suddenly started moving and shot forward, attempting to bind Xigbar. He jumped back and shot a third grenade. One of the strands of hair knocked it aside and protected the man from being blown up. The building it hit crumbled and collapsed, cutting the two men apart from each other. Xigbar turned towards the blonds, telling them to run. They followed his orders as he kept looking back to make sure the zombie hadn't come after them.

"What the hell, man?" Demyx yelled as he ran.

"He hunted me down like a rabbit," Xigbar replied. "We're nothing but targets here!"

Roxas refused to speak, worried by what that woman had said. He didn't want to believe her, believe that he was going to revert like the other zombies. He didn't want to hurt his friend or the strange man. But he couldn't over look the fact that all of the zombies that they encountered were nothing but ruthless predators.

Xigbar suddenly brought the small group to a halt as that same woman from before staggered out in front of them. Her skin had turned that all too familiar shade of green, but her eyes were solid white unlike the others. Her body was in worse shape and had several wounds with chunks of flesh torn out of them. Xigbar raised his weapon, unsure of what the female was about to do. She was moving unsteady and slouched towards them, kind of like she was drunk.

"This one's a true zombie…" Xigbar muttered, aiming straight for her.

"Where's the girl that was with her?" Roxas whispered, looking around.

"Wait, there were two?" Xigbar looked back to the boy.

"Y-yeah…"

"The girl was acting strange though," Demyx added.

Suddenly, the male they had narrowly escaped landed in front of them, leaving a slight crater in the ground. The woman let out a banshee scream, lunging towards the man. He snatched her up with his hair and tore the struggling woman in half. After tossing her aside, he turned to face the three horrified spectators. The woman continued to scream. Xigbar launched a grenade, but the man sidestepped. He roared, smacking Xigbar into a nearby brick wall with a whip of hair. He let out a pained gasp as the wind was knocked out of him.

Demyx stepped forward, attempting to set the man ablaze, but he jumped back. Roxas started firing off shells, but his hair kept blocking every attempt to hurt him. He laughed deeply at their pitiful attacks. Xigbar struggled to sit up, watching his two comrades struggle to back him up. He staggered to his feet, a new determination driving him.

"Keep him occupied!" Xigbar called to the others.

They nodded in response. Even Roxas seemed willing to listen to him for once. Roxas diverted the man's attention away from their direction. Demyx followed his lead, using the fire to keep the hair tentacles at bay. Xigbar took the opportunity to shoot a grenade into the man's back. It caught him off guard and tore him up fairly bad, but the man was still left standing. He turned on Xigbar, what was left of his face contorted in rage. This time he knocked Xigbar crashing through the wall into the building.

"Back off, ugly!" Demyx yelled, setting his back on fire.

The man's tentacles lashed out as the fire spread, consuming his entire remains. Demyx walked over to the woman, burning her as well. He was getting sick of her wails. Roxas rushed past the inferno, searching within the store for Xigbar. He found the man against the opposite wall, blood dribbling down from his mouth.

"Are you ok?" The boy asked, worried.

"Seen better days, little zombie dude. Think I'll manage though."

Roxas helped him to his feet and led him back outside. Demyx ran over to them.

"Are you hurt? Anything feel broken?" He asked, close to freaking out.

"Dude, chill! I'll be fine!" He said with a reassuring grin. "I'm a bit banged up, but it's nothing to worry about."

Demyx refused to move on before checking Xigbar for injuries. His chest was bruised up badly, but nothing seemed to be broken. Demyx let out a sigh of relief once he made sure that man hadn't given him an open wound.

"Alright, can we move along now?" Xigbar asked, putting his trench coat back on.

"Please! I want to get out of this place!" Roxas agreed.

"Alright, alright! We could use to grab supplies first…" Demyx responded, noticing their discomfort.

"Agreed," Xigbar said.

"I think that was a store you got knocked into," Roxas said, pointing back towards the wall.

"Well, let's check it out… Agh!" Xigbar grabbed his midsection, looking sick.

Demyx caught his arm as he started to fall and helped him sit down. The man was in more pain than he let on. Demyx pulled out the bottle of painkillers he had from earlier and a bottle of water, handing them both to Xigbar. He accepted them gratefully, taking a few more pills than Demyx thought he should.

Roxas went on ahead into the building with Demyx's bag, throwing several cans of easy open soup and various bags of snack foods as he walked through the isles. He also took the time to restock batteries for their flashlights. The boy was looking at a bottle of viagra, wondering if it was painkiller when a shadow darting behind an isle caught his eye. He dropped the bottle and spun around, searching for the cause of the disturbance.

"W-who's there?" Roxas called out, shaking.

"R… Roxas…"

Startled, he shined his flashlight towards the voice. It landed on the girl from before. Her skin had turned green like that of her mother's. Her eyes still had color to them, but she seemed to be struggling.

"How do you… know my name?" He asked, backing up.

"H-help… me…" She pleaded, holding out her hand.

He watched her cautiously. The boy had learned that his own kind couldn't be trusted, but… she was just a kid. But her mother had told them that the zombies all turn eventually. Roxas raised his shotgun hesitantly.

"Help…" she lowered her eyes so he couldn't see them through her bangs.

He fought off his turmoil of emotions and took a shot. She moved out of the way, snarling. The bullet hit a gas tank, sparking an explosion. Roxas was thrown back against the wall, knocked unconscious. Demyx jumped up quick, horrified. He ran head first into the flames, screaming Roxas's name. He found the boy leaned against the wall. He grabbed the boy and dragged him outside, away from the flames that threatened his existence.

"Is he alright?" Xigbar asked, limping over to them.

"I think he's just unconscious…" Demyx said, watching him with uncertainty. "Rox, what did you do…?"

"Come, on Demyx… We need to leave."

"I'm not leaving him!" Demyx said quickly.

"I wasn't implying that."

Xigbar bent down and picked the boy up, slinging him across his back. Demyx saw that one of his legs was only half attached after being thrown across the room.

"You sure you're ok to carry him? I mean, you're…"

"I'll be ok, little dude. Don't worry," he said with a grin, his pain momentarily forgotten because of the drugs.

"If you say so…" Demyx watched him with a concerned look.

"Come on already!" Xigbar beckoned, walking away from the teen.

"Alright, alright!"

Demyx hurried to catch up with him, mostly to make sure he was there if the man decided to fall. Roxas regained conscious for a few moments just as they made it to the town's edge. He looked back and could have sworn he saw the girl standing only feet from them before passing back out again. Demyx noticed the flash of fear on the boy's face and looked back, but he didn't see anything there.

He hoped that his two friends would be able to hold up until they finally found a safe haven to rest. The odds seemed to be against them though. Demyx encouraged Xigbar to move faster when he heard a loud howl sound behind them, but he had no idea how far away the owner was. He just walked on, hoping that it didn't belong to what he feared it was.


	5. Chapter 5 Bookworm

Chapter Five Bookworm

Demyx looked around, keeping watch as Xigbar rested up from his fight. Roxas was testing out his leg after having it sewn back in place. Demyx took the precaution to sew all the way around in case the other half decided to crap out on him. They had stopped in a small community, but the houses were in bad shape. It seemed that a second bomb had been dropped near here.

"If repopulating the earth with humans is left to you guys, then humanity is screwed," Roxas said randomly, laughing.

"What the heck made you think of that?" Demyx said with a tired smile.

"How many humans have we encountered so far?" Demyx started to count everyone they had met so far, but Roxas wasn't done. "That aren't dead now?"

Demyx shrugged, pointing to Xigbar. The two laughed. Roxas looked thoughtful for a second, and then shuddered. Demyx looked at him questioningly.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Tried to imagine what your kids would look like…" He said, shuddering again.

"Ugh!" Demyx made a disgusted face.

"I know!"

"What are you two talking about?" Xigbar asked, sitting up and yawning.

"N-nothing!" Demyx said quickly.

"Yeah! What he said!" Roxas said, grinning.

"O…k… You dudes are weird."

The two blonds snickered in response. The sky was finally starting to lighten up, if you could call it that. Thick gray clouds and smoke still hung in the air like a cloak that some unknown source had dropped over the earth. Since Xigbar seemed well enough to move on, the three began making their way past the ruined houses. Every little noise was causing Demyx to jump slightly. He was getting used to something jumping out at him everywhere he went these days. And he wasn't wrong to feel that way.

Roxas walked along quietly beside him, not seeming too interested in their current scenery. Xigbar was on the lookout every bit as much as Demyx, if not more so. The man was noticeably more paranoid than the teen. Demyx was in the process of putting his flashlight away when the little group heard someone yell up ahead. They rushed forward to find a short male and a rather large male zombie fighting off a pack of Venus Hounds. Their oddly shaped heads snapped open and shut, hundreds of teeth gleaming dangerously. The shorter male lit a book on fire and threw it at one. The dumb brute caught it in its jaws, the fire spreading over its body like a wildfire.

Xigbar whistled loudly and one of the creatures took the bait, targeting him instead. He launched a grenade into its gaping jaws, sending various parts of the beast flying off in odd directions. The large zombie man took care of the last two with an alcohol-doused machete. The fiery blade tore through their bodies like a knife through butter. Demyx whistled in wonder, watching the two newcomers curiously. The shorter one had bluish-gray hair, bangs over his right eye, and the color of both being blue. The large zombie had curly rusted orange colored hair, his eyes brown and dark. He seemed to be still intact, unlike Roxas who was becoming covered with stitches.

"I didn't expect to find anyone else in this dump," the short male started.

"Neither did we," Demyx agreed, walking over to them. "My name's Demyx."

"Zexion. This here is Lexaeus. I see you've managed to make a competent companion as well."

"You mean Roxas?" Demyx asked, looking back to the blond.

"I'm assuming that's the zombie's name?"

"Yeah," Demyx looked back to him. "And that's Xigbar over there."

"Charmed."

"Have you two been in this area the whole time?" Xigbar asked, walking over as well.

Roxas stayed behind him, doing his usual routine around strangers.

"Pretty much. We walked far enough north to see a forest in the distance, but there were too many of these… things out there," Zexion replied, kicking one of the Venus Hounds.

"Those damn things are all over the place," Xigbar said with disgust.

"Tell me about it," Demyx muttered.

"You'd better watch yourselves. One bite from one of the affected creatures and you won't last long," Lexeaus's quiet voice broke in.

"What do you mean?" Demyx asked, glancing to Roxas for a split second.

"You mean you don't know?" Zexion asked in surprise.

"Obviously not," Xigbar said sarcastically.

"What do you know?" The short male persisted.

"Uh…" Demyx paused to think. "The radiation caused this…?"

Zexion looked at the teen like he was stupid, face palming at what he had just said.

"No, no, no… The bombs weren't nukes! They contained some sort of weird virus that affected the living. All the damage to the towns and cities were caused by the massive impact the bombs made when they landed."

"A virus?" Roxas asked, peeking out from behind Xigbar.

"Yes. Anything that came into contact with it was infected and either died or mutated. Save for a few in which I theorize had some sort of immunity to its effects."

"Like us?" Demyx motioned to the male and Xigbar.

"Precisely."

"So… This lady… she told us that the sane zombies… eventually become feral like the rest. Do you know if that's true?" Roxas asked quietly.

"I haven't seen that with my own eyes," Zexion replied to the boy. "But I do know you need to be careful. One bite from any of the infected and you'll turn into one of them."

"It happened to me," Lexaeus added, nodding in agreement. "The thing came out of nowhere. I didn't have a chance."

Xigbar started having second thoughts about letting Roxas hide behind him. He shuffled to the left, but the boy just darted behind Demyx instead.

"It might be more than bites," Demyx replied, thinking back to the wound that the girl had. "Maybe just an open wound alone could cause it."

"Hey, anything's possible," Zexion said, turning from them. "Let's go, Lexaeus."

"Where are you dudes headed?" Xigbar asked, watching them.

"We can't stay here forever," Lexaeus responded, looking back. "Zexion thinks that there may still be civilization beyond the forest."

"Think about it. The forest is still standing, so nothing hit near it," the short male stated.

"But you never know!" Demyx protested. "There was more than one of those bombs."

"Blond dude's right," Xigbar agreed.

"So what do you propose we do? Sit around and wait to die?" Zexion asked, turning back to face them.

"…You have no idea what's lurking in those trees," Roxas said quietly.

Demyx got goose bumps on the back of his neck when the boy spoke. There was something off about the tone of his voice. The two stared at Roxas, Zexion looking a bit perplexed.

"One thing's for sure. You aren't gonna last long tossing books," Xigbar said, laughing.

"Oh, and I suppose you're doing just fine with those hairdryers?" Zexion shot back in a snappy tone.

"Don't go there, man," Demyx said, holding up his hands. "I already learned that lesson."

"Please stop fighting," Lexaeus's voice broke in. "In these dark times we need to bond, not bicker."

"As if!" Xigbar said, wanting to accept shorty's challenge.

"He's right," Demyx said, holding out his arm in front of Xigbar. "Cut it out, will ya?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Xigbar agreed, stomping away from them.

"…" Zexion remained silent for some time.

"Look, I know none of you will like this idea, but we might be better off teaming up with each other. Strength in numbers, you know?" Demyx spoke up.

He looked to each of them, save for Roxas who was still lurking behind him. Zexion returned the gaze with a look of contemplation. Xigbar acted as if the teen hadn't spoken.

"I do think it's a good plan, Demyx," Lexaeus agreed, nodding. "However, these two seem to be in disagreement."

"No way I'm going with the runt," Xigbar said with a snort.

"Xigbar, come on! Be reasonable!" Demyx urged him.

"…" The tall male didn't reply, walking away from the group.

Demyx watched after him, shaking his head sadly. He couldn't understand that man at all. Roxas watched him for a few minutes, and then darted off after him with some unknown intentions.

"H-hey! Roxas!" Demyx called out, startled.

"Don't worry about them. If they've lasted this long, then they aren't about to go down without a fight now," Lexaeus said, walking over to Demyx.

"Yeah, I guess you're right… I just worry that Xigbar might try to hurt him."

"It's a wonder that you survived him," Zexion said coldly.

"What is wrong with you…?" Demyx asked him.

"…"

Demyx waited around with his two new companions for nearly two hours until Xigbar and Roxas returned. Xigbar was carrying something that resembled a metal pipe with a cage-like basket attached. The pipe was big enough for Roxas to fit his head in it if he were dumb enough to try. He was grinning broadly at his latest creation. Roxas, himself, had something odd in his hands. It somewhat resembled a large key, its handle square. The top half of the metal extension had strange little outlets sticking up from it. A trigger was attached to the handle. A small gas tank was strapped to his waist, a cord trailing from the end of the key. Xigbar walked over to Zexion and tossed his large contraption at him.

"Test it out, dude," he said.

"How exactly do I use this thing…?" Zexion questioned, looking at it curiously.

"Load your books into the basket and pull the trigger."

Zexion did so, taking the books out of his messenger bag and loading them into the basket. It was a bit heavy for the male and he staggered a bit while balancing it on his shoulder. He aimed it for one of the buildings and pulled the trigger on the handle. A book disappeared into the tube, launching out of the end, its pages blazing. The force of the shot knocked him to his ass.

"Whoa…" was all Zexion could say.

"Figured you could use something better to defend yourself, little dude," Xigbar said with a shrug.

"What brought this on?" Demyx asked him.

"Your friend there said some things… Don't worry about it."

Roxas was standing beside Demyx, practicing swinging his new weapon. Xigbar handed Lexaeus some more flammable liquids for his machete. He had apparently gone on a raid, having more supplies in his bag as well.

"If you run outta books, just load it with whatever you can find," Xigbar said to Zexion after he had launched three of them, trying to get used to the recoil.

"Right. Thank you," he said, looking a bit wired.

"So… On to the forest then?" Demyx asked, glad to see them finally getting along.

"Sure thing," Zexion responded, Lexaeus nodding.

Roxas actually walked in front of Demyx for once, not worried by the newcomers in the least bit. Xigbar certainly had some skill with making weapons, which was a good thing since fire was their only chance. Demyx looked down to the flamethrower in his own hands. Axel seemed to be gifted with it as well. He found himself wondering if the rogue zombie had managed to survive without the weapon. The little group hadn't made it very far before a loud roar stopped them dead in their tracks. Demyx froze up, recognizing it from before.

"What the hell was that?" Zexion asked, wide eyed.

"It sounded rather large," Lexaeus said, looking back behind them.

Roxas had a strange determination displayed on his features. He seemed to know exactly what was coming for them. Demyx had a sinking suspicion that he did too. Xigbar looked worried, but got his weapons ready never the less. The ground seemed to shake as the owner of the noise approached them. It let out another roar, alerting them that it was only a few streets away. Demyx beckoned the group to dart into a partially crumbling alleyway. The five crouched behind the rubble, Demyx peaking out from time to time, watching for it.

"Here he comes," Roxas whispered through the silence.

Demyx looked back out and his fears were confirmed.


End file.
